Constant Flames
by Draconis Kitten Sweetie
Summary: That's right! Constant Flames is back and better than ever! A young girl from a Pokemon ranch decides she wants more than just that for life, so she starts her Pokemon journey at thirteen years old. Meeting people and Pokemon along the way, she soon finds trouble that could be a threat to everyone in all of the Sinnoh region. Has only Pokemon from 1st to 4th generation.
1. Opening

Kitten: Okay! All you loyal fans of 'Constant Flames', get ready to shout for joy for I am revising the whole thing and re-posting it! It'll have generally the same plot, but a few stupid things that I don't like will be fixed to be better. Kay, well, that ends my author's note, so I just ant to say that I don't own Pokémon and I hope you all like it!

*Pokémon*

"Sarah! Go help your brother with the Ponyta!" My mother snapped at me. I almost jump out of my skin, and Vixen, the Vulpix I was playing with, gets off my lap and looks up at my mom.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm going..." I mutter unhappily. My mother nods in a disciplinary fashion and leaves, her bushy red hair bobbing as she leaves the doorframe. I sigh as I get up, and notice one of Ninetails dart back into the enclosure, nabbing her kid and running off. I hop the small, cement wall that make it so the small Pokémon we take in here to feed or play with can't get out, and navigate my way over our large farm, finding my brother tending to the two, new, Ponyta colts.

"Mind helping me out, sis?" Colton asks sheepishly. The colts dart all around the fenced enclosure, strong enough to run but not to jump a six-foot fence yet. I roll my eyes and whistle loudly, the two Ponyta still ignoring us and continuing in whatever game they're playing.

"Hey, which ones are these again?" I ask him as I watch the two Ponyta play. My brother raises an eyebrow at me, almost in an unbelieving fashion.

"So you know ever single Vulpix by name just by the way they look and act, yet you can't name the Ponyta at all?" He asks incredulously.

I turn red, now ignoring the playful colts and glaring at him. "There's like, six of them on the ranch!" I snap defensively.

"And there's about eleven Vulpix!" He retorts in disbelief. I move my mouth without making a sound, putting on a mocking face. He snorts. "Fine, if you can tame those two without my help, I'll tell you their names."

"Fine," I say smugly, knowing I probably won't be able to do it yet willing to try, just to defend my honour. I start approaching the colts cautiously, trying not to spook them for fear of sending them running again. The two continue to hop around each other, whinnying happily.

"Hey, guys..." I say softly, coming up to them. They turn to see me, and give a shout of their names, then attack. Kind of. They both jump around me and take turns nipping at me while I squeal and swat them away from me, trying to get me to play with them and not realizing that they're hurting me.

I hear my brother start to laugh hysterically, and a when the Ponyta finally get that I don't want to play with them, they back off, now running around in what seems to be a high-speed game of tag in which one of them is 'it' no matter how many times they tag the other.

"Happy now, you jerk?!" I snap in a flustered fashion, moving my chestnut hair out my face to glare at him.

"V-V-Very!" He gets out between gasps for oxygen, crying from laughing so hard. I growl in embarrassment, storming out of the enclosure and slamming the gate shut behind me, going to do any other task.

I pass up the Magby and evolutions enclosure when I see my dad is on it, and the Cyndaquil and up enclosure when I see my mom working on it. I decide on the Growlithe enclosure, seeing as my mom has banned me from the Vulpix enclosure because I play with them more than I fix up their enclosure.

My family owns a fire type ranch, with only pure fire-types in it. We have Ponyta and it's evolution Rapidash, Vulpix and occasionally their evolution Ninetails, Growlithe and occasionally their evolution Arcanine, Cyndaquil and their evolutions both Quilava and Typhlosion, Magby and Magmar yet no Magmortar yet, and Torkoal. WE don't have any Pokémon with even half a type that isn't fire, much to my despair. WE get quite a few customers coming by and asking to purchase our well-known Pokémon, but only a few ever walk away with the Pokémon they want. They have to pass numerous tests to show that they're capable of raising our powerful fire-types.

The Growlithe are all happy to see me, running up and barking at me and wagging their fluffy tails happily. I grin at them, pushing my annoyance at Colton to the back of my mind and going about their enclosure, picking up waste and checking the little pond we have for water. It's half empty, the dogs obviously very thirsty very often.

"Drink a little less, will ya?" I say jokingly to the excited pups. The Arcanine slink over to me, the females growling slightly. The Arcanine don't like me much, and neither do many of the evolved Pokémon. I have a tendency to take their children without asking so I can play with them. I hold my hands up in surrender, a barking exchange going on between parents and kids and the nine pups going to respective parents, the six parents, herding them away from me.

I exit the enclosure and note the empty food bowls, going to go get food for them. Before I can, a very dense Starly lands on the durable steel fence of the enclosure. I close the door to the enclosure, the heavy, metal door swinging closed with a loud 'thud' as I stand still to watch the Arcanine, who look up at the thing hungrily. They seem to formulate a plan, and one of them rams the wall with Take Down. The Starly takes to the air in a panic, flying over the enclosure and into their trap, another Arcanine shooting it down with a well-aimed Flamethrower. The bird falls to the ground weakly, the feathers signed so it looks black and nearly dead. The Growlithe all converge on it, toying with the poor thing until it stops chirping in pain, the silent bird now being eaten by the Growlithe who caught it.

I shudder to think what that kind of power could do to someone they don't like, a slink out of the enclosure to get Pokémon food before I become some.

*Pokémon*

It's six o'clock at night and I'm dead tired. I spent all day tending to the expecting Typhlosion who nearly pummeled me to goo when I tried to feed her the wrong type of food, and now I have to deal with some trainer to-be who wants a Magby.

"Hello, welcome to Sunny Day Ranch, home to all your fire type needs," I recite with fake happiness. the ten year old looks at me like I'm crazy, and starts laughing.

"Dude, you sound like a robot," he says with a snicker. I raise my eyebrow at him, and glare down at him, the three years younger boy glaring right back up at me. I'm going to retort, but something stops me. I can't tell if it's his determined look or his fiery spirit or his defiant stance, but I suddenly take a liking to him.

"What's your name, kid?" I ask him. He raises an eyebrow at my sudden demeanor change, but answers confidently anyway.

"I'm Kenny Tellus, and I'm going to be the Sinnoh League Champ one day!" He says with every ounce of belief he has. I grin down at him, his bleach blonde hair paling further compared to his bright red eyes.

I'm about to reply, when I feel something in my chest. I want to tell him that I hope he becomes champion one day and becomes the best in the land, when I feel my heart pounding wildly.

I think I'm having an epiphany.

I realize that _that_ is what I'm, missing. I'm missing the adventure in my life. I'm missing the driving passion of a real goal. I'm missing that feeling of being on your own, totally free.

And I want it with all my fast-beating heart.

"Not if I beat you to it," I hear myself say, suddenly aware that that is what I want.

I want to become champion.

I _will_ become champion.

Kenny and I continue to talk as I lead him to the Magby enclosure, and I have him fill the sheets that show he can adopt the Magby (which, by the way, he aced). He and I walk in, and all the five Magby rush him, all bleating for attention. Expect for one that starts trying to push him out of the enclosure.

"Who's this one?" He asks, pointing to the one that's staring at him with eyes that show he wants him to leave. I can see where this is going.

"That is Gordon, and he's not very friendly. But you like him anyway, don't you?" I say with amusement.

"It's _why_ I like him," he answers with a grin. He picks up the level seven Magby, who, not very happy, leers at him. Kenny flinches a bit, but holds him eye-level the entire time, waiting for Gordon to stop.

Gordon then uses Ember right next to his face, knowing that if he hurts yet another trainer we will release him. When Kenny doesn't flinch, but grins wider, the Magby seems to get that Kenny is going to take him from the enclosure on an adventure. Gordon grins widely and chirps his name, hopping out of his grip and into mine, pointing at Kenny with bright eyes.

"Kenny," I say with a smug smile, tapping Gordon with a Poké Ball and watching him get captured without a fight. "You are the only trainer who has ever had an interest in Gordon. And the only one he has ever shown any interest in."

Kenny grins widely, taking the Poké Ball from me and releasing the Magby into the outside again. Gordon grins, a determined look in his eyes. Kenny fishes around in his pocket for the payment needed for Gordon, but I shake my head.

"Nope, take him free of charge, You've helped me in more ways than one, kid," I say with a grin. He thanks me enthusiastically, and runs off with Gordon fast at his heels.

I look to the setting sun and to the Vulpix enclosure, taking a deep breath as I go to find my future partner.

Entering the enclosure, Vixen, Flare, Coal, Dusty, Sunshine, Foxy, Vinny, Sniver, Sun, Star, and Phineas run up to me.

"Hm, Colton was right. There are eleven Vulpix. Eleven baby Vulpix anyway," I say absentmindedly. I look to the siblings, Vixen and Vinny, who're crawling all over each other to be the first to get to me. Vixen is a kindled spirit, and she's got a spark that enables her to be rebellious and brave. I'd like to take her. But Vinny is almost the same, but he's very protective of the ones he loves and would be a great partner too.

Then there's Sunshine, Sniver, Sun, and Star. Sunshine is the only shiny Vulpix we've ever had and is special to all of us, so I don't think I could get away with taking her. Sniver is kind of odd, and produces flames every time he gets a bit too excited. He has an odd head fetish in which he'll nestle in your hair until you forcibly remove him. I don't think I want to take him. Sun and Star are of one mind, twin born at the same time. They act so alike you'd think they come from the same egg. The only difference really is that Sun is a boy and Star is a girl. I could never separate them, and I don't want to take tem both.

Then there's Flare, Coal, Dusty, and Phineas. I can rule out Dusty and Phineas, because the two don't like me that much, but Flare is the sweetest one there, and is always nice to me. Though she's so shy I'm not sure how she'd fare in battle. Coal is brave and heroic and admittedly a bit arrogant, but he's so fun to be around and is always main me smile.

So the final contestants are Vixen, Vinny, Flare, and Coal.

Thinking for a moment and petting the Vulpix each in turn, I decide that I'll decide who I choose n battle. I coax the four into following me into the small arena we have for Trainers who want to challenge my parents (It's happened before) and put them in different corners. I take up a bunch of stones and stack them all in the center, a good, four foot mound protruding from my work.

"Okay!" I announce, the four looking over at me inquisitively. "WE are having a small competition. See that pile of rocks? Whoever is on the very top of that when I announce we're finished is going to come with me on what I now will be an epic Pokémon journey." The Vulpix all seem very excited, even shy little Flare looks excited, despite her lack of fighting. "You can use moves, but no seriously injuring each other. Use them to knock opponents off the rock mound to either get up or keep them down. So I wish you all the best of luck!"

The competition is pretty fair, considering none of them are past level seven. Trainers usually purchase them before they reach a high level, though sometimes we end up with adults, which is how the breeding continues.

Level four Flare is at the bottom of the heap, using the pitiful move Tail Whip to whomever is in her way. Vinny at level seven is at the top of the heap, spamming Roar at anyone who can hear. I think I may need to get my ears checked with how many times he used that move. Coal keeps running up the heap to him, only getting Roar in the face each time, getting more and more frustrated. Vixen is watching it all play out, formulating a plan as she follows Flare's idea and Tail Whips anyone in the way, usually Coal or Flare herself.

As I count down in my head, ten seconds is left when Vinny suddenly loses his voice. Roar ran out of PP and he cannot use it anymore, which gives Coal a chance to finally launch an attack. Apparently, one of his parents had learned Extrasensory before they had had him, as he uses said psychic move to send Vinny flying off of the heap, dashing up to the top himself. Just as Vixen and Flare are about to run up and try to claim victory for themselves, I call time as my countdown ends.

Vinny looks disgruntled, and a bit too pissed for a little level seven, and goes to sulk in a corner, which is pretty hard considering it's a circular arena. Flare looks a bit disappointed, and Vixen looks plain frustrated by how little she could do.

I gingerly step around the losing Vulpix and pick up Coal, who looks overly proud of himself.

I smile at the little guy, who pretty mush ignores me and looks smug. Raising an eyebrow, I direct the Vulpix back to their enclosure where their parents nearly maul me for taking their children yet again. I carry Coal off, which nearly sends his mother (whom is still a Vulpix) into a frenzy.

The Fox Pokémon squirms out of my arms to walk beside me instead, which causes me to frown. I wanted to hold him a bit. I guess he's independent. I hear a Vulpix cry from their enclosure as I walk away, not realizing one of them is standing at the gate, watching me leave with hope and want in her eyes.

*Pokémon*

"Mom, Dad, I want to go on a Pokémon journey."

The silence in the room is louder than their yelling at me ever was. My mom's red hair seems to die a little bit, the springy bounce to her frizzy curls almost drooping down as she slumps a bit. My runs a hand through his short, brown hair, watching me with sorrow in his eyes.

After five minutes or so of extremely awkward silence only broken by Coal's proud feet thumping against the ground, my dad finally speaks up.

"We were hoping this would never happen..." He says without the usual enthusiasm in his voice. "But who are we to hold you back?"

I grin widely, throwing my arms around his rotund belly and squeezing him in a hug.

"Oh thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" I squeal excitedly.

"Are... ARe you sure you want to do this?" My mom asks. I'm shocked to hear how choked up and teary-eyed she is; she never gets emotional.

Before I can answer, a large 'BOOM' sounds outside and my brother shouts for help.

"A PACK OF HOUNDOOM IS ATTACKING THE RANCH!"

*Pokémon*

Colton: You're just going to leave it at that?!

Kitten: I was going to add more, but I decided this was an awesome cliff-hanger and I'm going to put the rest in the second chapter. Anyways, I hope any readers out there liked it, and I hope that if you've read this before, you see a large improvement in my writing.

Colton: I need a new writer...


	2. Leaving the Nest and Taking Tests

Kitten: Well, here's to hoping SOMONE is reading this... So, with a grand total of four views at the moment that I am writing this, I can say with all honesty that I'm happy with it still! Ahahaha, so, fun to write and hopefully fun to read, I CONTINUE.

Colton: Draconis Kitten Sweetie does not know Pokémon.

*Pokémon*

Whatever little scene was going on in the house instantly disperses as we run out to where my brother is standing in the back of the house.

Around Five Ponyta are dashing for their parents, the four Rapidash at the ranch trying to beat back a pack of fifteen or more Houndoom. The rest of the enclosures are sealed off, but the Houndoom are making short work of that, one of them hopping the small wall around the Torkoal and wreaking havoc.

"How did the Rapidash and Ponyta get out?!" My mom asks frantically, my dad already having run off to find his trusted partner Arcanine.

"I let them out when one of the Houndoom blasted a hole in the wall with Hyper Beam!" Colton shouts, dashing off to the Cyndaquil and evolutions enclosure. "We need to open all the enclosures so the Pokémon aren't sitting Psyduck!"

My mom dashes to the Growlithe and Arcanine enclosure while I dash to the Vulpix, Coal following at my heels and looking a bit nervous. The Houndoom don't bother or see us yet, most of them surrounding the struggling Rapidash and Ponyta herd. The colts I had tried to calm before were hiding behind a pair of Rapidash, crying for help pitifully.

I open the enclosure hurriedly, Vixen the first one out. The other Vulpix rush out, the children hurrying to hide somewhere and the adults dashing off to go help the Rapidash. The only Ninetails on the ranch dashes to my mom to help her with the other Pokémon. Vixen and Flare stay with me and Coal, Flare for cowering behind my legs.

"Come on, we have to let out the Torkoal!" I command, the three following me as I run to the enclosure. Halfway there, I watch horrified as two or three of the Houndoom drag out a weakly struggling Torkoal, struggling to bring him out of the enclosure.

"Put him down!" I shout, knowing the Houndoom won't listen to me but not knowing what else to do as I rapidly approach the enclosure. Before I can get there, a fast moving white blur knocks two of them over, and the Torkoal falls back down to the ground.

A cry of pain distracts me from the now not in danger of getting eaten yet Torkoal, and I turn to see what looks like a young Houndour trying to attack the baby Vulpix. Vinny tries to Roar him away, but still can't find his voice after the competition I had.

Realizing that none of them know what to do but Ember the thing as their backed into a corner, I look down at my pack of three Vulpix with me, and come to the conclusion that this is going to be my first battle. Of course it's a life or death match. Of course.

Coal looks fired up, and his eyes flash as he tries out Extrasensory on it. The Houndour doesn't even flinch.

"Coal, it's a dark-type, use Ember instead!" I command, running over with the three Vulpix at my heels. The Houndour turns to use, and changes his target, drawing closer in a stalking motion to attack us.

Coal grows ever frustrated, his eyes flashing uselessly as he keeps trying the ineffective move on the oncoming predator.

"Coal, Ember!" I snap, growing panicked. When Coal doesn't obey once again as the Houndour lunges, a well-aimed Ember hits him in the face, sending him crashing to the ground with a snarl of annoyance.

Looking down, I see Vixen flaring her tails in a way that tries to make her more threatening. Flare pokes her head over Vixen's tails, watching the Houndour timidly. The Houndour gets back up, snarling at me and the Vulpix and lunging again. Vixen shuts him down again, knocking him down with a fiery look flashing across her eyes. A smirk spreads across her face, and Coal seems to get the idea, helping her to Ember the thing back.

The other Vulpix look intrigued, and all run out to help, and soon, the Vulpix force eleven sends the outnumbered Houndour packing.

"Vixen?" I say incredulously. She smiles a smug smile up at me, and Coal angrily huffs, still not comprehending why his special move didn't work on them. I look down at the two, and it occurs to me that maybe Coal isn't the best idea to take with me on my journey.

A Houndoom snaps me out of my reverie, the pissed off dog slinking over to use with the Houndour we drove off trailing behind, looking smug.

"Mom?!" I shout, panicked. Vixen, Coal, and Vinny don't back down, staring deftly at the oncoming predator. Vixen even has the courage to shoot an Ember at it. The Ember hits the Houndoom, and it barely flinches, turning it's head up. It smiles an evil smile, and lets loose a burning hot Flamethrower on the three Vulpix standing before it.

I feel my heart nearly stop beating, and the world going silent. The Vulpix got torched. Every single one of them. I know for a fact they could not have survived that.

When the Houndoom ends, looking smug, the three Vulpix still stand, an even bigger smirk on all their faces as a red light seems to surround them, then fade.

"Flash Fire..." I say, unable to believe I had forgotten that. Of course, they can't get hurt by fire-type moves. But if the Houndoom has Early Bird, then maybe they can hurt it.

"Ember," I command, watching as the three release a much larger attack than before, hitting the Houndoom who flinches away in discomfort. Ah, how I do love thee, Early Bird.

Getting pissed off, the Houndoom opens it's mouth and starts charging a blinding white beam, a small ball of it growing ever bigger. I shout for my mom in a panic again, grabbing Flare and Vixen off the ground and commanding the rest of them to dodge it. I dive out of the way as the others scatter, and the white beam scorches through where we were just standing, the Hyper Beam hitting out house with a devastating explosion.

"Mom!" I shout again desperately. The Houndoom grins and strolls over to me, still having a small recovery from the attack. Right as it's about to lunge for my throat, Mom's Ninetails rams it's side, snarling. Her eyes glow purple, and the Houndoom blinks, swaying in confusion.

"Sarah!" Mom yells in terror, kneeling down at my side after commanding Ninetails to use Quick Attack. "Oh My Arceus, Honey! Are you okay?!"

"F-Fin, Mom..." I say nodding. Mom nods, biting her bottom lip in an effort not to cry, then looks back over to Ninetails.

"Finish it with Fire Blast!" She commands. Ninetails nods, and just before doing so, Vixen hits her with Ember for good measure. I can't stop the small smile from spreading across my face as the predator howls to the now losing pack, which flees hurriedly.

I look down at Flare and Vixen in my arms, Flare just so relieved everyone is gone yet still hiding in my dirty yellow jacket, and Vixen jumping out of my arms to prance around in pride. Despite the mortal terror, I have to admit that it was the most exciting thing to ever happen to me.

But I'm hoping I can change that.

"Yes." My mom looks over to me, puzzled as Dad and Colton round up the other Pokémon. I look over to her, propping myself up on the elbows. "I'm sure I want to become a Pokémon trainer."

*Pokémon*

"Just make sure she doesn't exert herself too much and she'll be perfectly fine," the pink-haired nurse says with a comforting smile. My mom nods with a hand on her chest, looking to the unhappy Rapidash in a splint.

"I'm going to miss you, sis," Colton says with a small smile, patting me on the back. I bite my lip in an effort not to cry, nodding and hugging my sixteen year old brother.

"I'll miss you too, Colton," I choke out, my voice muffled by his shirt. He puts his head on mine for a second then releases me, looking about ready to cry himself.

"Don't be such a crybaby," he says in a teasing manner. I giggle, wiping away the tears in my eyes and hugging my softly crying mom.

"Sorry I have to leave, Mom..." I whisper out, now crying myself. My mom doesn't reply, just squeezes me tighter. Vixen looks up at me, laying her head on my leg when she notes my distress. My dad comes over silently, wrapping me and my mom in a big good-bye hug.

"I'm going to miss you, Sarah," he says sorrowfully, but with a small smile o his face.  
"But who am I to stop you?"

"Are you ready to leave, Sarah?" Nurse Joy asks with a warm smile on her face.

"Almost. Can I talk to the Vulpix quickly?" I ask. Nurse Joy nods patiently, and I crouch down to face Flare, Coal, Vinny, and Vixen.

"Good-bye, Flare. I hope you find a nice family to take care of you," I say sadly, petting the sweet Vulpix on the head. She looks up at me happily, licking my face. I look to Coal and Vinny next, Petting Coal with my right hand and Vinny with my left. "Sorry it didn't work out, Coal. I hope you understand." The Vulpix pouts, but nods grudgingly. "Sorry I have to take your sister away from you, Vinny," I say. Vinny nods sadly, and nudges Vixen.

"Vul Vulpix. Vul Vul Pix," Vinny says to his sister, licking Vixen's forehead. "Pix Vul."

I scoop up Vixen, who's still looking to her brother, and look to Nurse Joy. "I'm ready to go." She nods, and starts to lead me to her van, taking me to the Celestic City bus stop so I can catch the bus to Trainer School in Jubilife City.

"Vulpix Vulpix! Vul Vul Pix!" Vixen calls over my shoulder. A chorus of voices, both human and Pokémon, follow us out to the van where Nurse Joy starts up and drives away with me in the Passenger seat.

I watch the ranch disappear outside the window, then look down to Vixen. She looks up to me with a small smile, and I stroke her down her back.

"I guess our adventure begins now."

*Pokémon*

"I'm so bored, I could cry." Vixen looks up at me as if she's agreeing with me, the four hour bus ride barely thirty minutes in.

"Vul Vul Vulpix, Vul Pix Vul Pix," Vixen grumbles, looking up at me. I stare blankly at her, conveying the message that I have no clue what she's saying. Vixen sighs irritably, and I realize rather unhappily that she's going to be the one teaching me for quite a while. The fox paws me until I give her my backpack and unzip it for her, and she quickly roots around, messing up all the stuffed my mom packed for me so very organized.

"Pix!" She chimes happily, pulling out a bag of fresh Cheri berries and ripping the thin plastic bag, eating at least five or them without the spice affecting her all that much.

I roll my eyes at her, organizing my items once more since she messed them up. As I do, I notice my mom packed me six extra Poké Balls instead of five.

"That's strange..." I say to myself, getting ignored by my companion. "I can only carry around six Pokémon, so why do I have-" I cut off, looking at a Poké Ball to Vixen awkwardly. "Oh. Hey, Vixen..." Vixen looks up at me, done with her meal. "I haven't captured you yet... Can we fix that?" Vixen blinks blankly, then gives an odd, bark-coughing sound that I figure is laughing, then nods to me. I tap her with the red and white ball, feeling oddly accomplished.

Until she breaks free of it.

"Uh, hello!" I voice incredulously. "That just wasted a Poké Ball! Why did you break out of it?" Vixen pouts, looking to the ball unhappily and nosing it away.

"Vul Vulpix Pix Vul," the red fox murmurs unhappily. "Vul Vul Pix Vulpix."

"I. DON'T. UNDERSTAND. YOU," I say loudly, as if that'll help with the language barrier between us.

"VUL VUL PIX," She replies just as loudly, staring at me defiantly. We glare at each other for a second before I sigh and pull out another Poké Ball.

"Can we try again?" I ask hopefully. Vixen looks uncomfortable, but nods reluctantly. I tap the sphere to her head, watching as she gets sucked into the contraption. One shake later, she bursts out once more, kneading the seat and whining unhappily. "Vixen!"

"Vulpix!" She whines, curling up behind my backpack to hide from view. I sigh, packing all but the two wasted Poké Balls up and taking the two now non-working shells up to the front to throw them out. The bus driver yells at me to sit down, so I hurry back to my seat, afraid of the chubby man with little hair.

"Ugh, I just want to get to Jubilife for the Trainer School test thing," I say with an aggravated sigh. Vixen nods, and I chat with her for about an hour until she starts getting tired, and drifts off into sleep.

Taking the hint, I curl up in the corner of the seat, yawning, then drift off into sleep.

*Pokémon*

"Pix."

"Nuuuuh..."

"Vulpix."

"Nuuuuuuuuuuh..."

"Vul. Pix."

"Five more minutes..."

Eventually, Vixen grows so annoyed with me, she bits down on my hand to wake me up.

"GAH! VIXEN!" I yelp, reclaiming my hand and shaking it in pain. "What the hell?!"

"Vulpix!" She snaps at me, pointing her paw out the window to the sign outside. The sign reads 'Jubilife City' and I realize that there's a line of people getting off the bus.

"Oh, crap, thanks, Vixen!" I say with a sheepish look. Vixen rolls her eyes at me, and I sling my backpack on, scoop her up, and get off the bus, giving a small 'good-bye' to the irritable bus driver. Stepping out into the city, I can't help but notice how it's just as busy as the ranch ever was, but all the moving and talking is done mostly by people, and not Pokémon.

"So what do you think, do you think we should be the nerds that go to school and learn everything first, or just wing it on the test and hope for the best?" I ask my Vulpix who technically isn't mine by law until I capture her. She just looks up at me with a small smile on her face that causes e to grin. "Test it is."

We start towards the big Trainer School with two wings, one for the classes, and one for the kids taking the tests seeing as there is no set time for the Trainer Test. I walk up to the ig double doors, surprised when they swing inwards themselves. A girl with a Bidoof runs out crying, not even acknowledging me.

"Uhm... I'm less confident now..." I say awkwardly, Vixen nodding awkwardly. But we suck it up and step inside, the cream coloured marble showing us our reflections.

"Hello, welcome to Trainer School!" A nice-looking receptionist says warmly, her amber eyes glistening with a scary amount of happiness. "How may I help you?"

I awkwardly shift my weight between my two legs repeatedly, looking down at Vixen one last time before talking to the receptionist. "I'm here to take the Trainer Test so I can become... a Trainer..."

"Lovely!" She says happily. "Do you have a Pokémon with you to test with?" I nod, bending down and scooping up Vixen, figuring she just didn't see Vixen when we came in. "Good! Now sign both of your names on this sheet please..." I do as she says, filling out the sheet for an awkward, silent minute with my information. "Now, please go into the room to your right and wait for the testing to begin!"

"That was easy..." I whisper under my breath to Vixen as we make our way to the waiting area. Within the first three minutes of waiting, we see three people walking out unhappily, no Trainer's License in hand. Not five minutes passed before a man in a white coat came out, his bald head shining oddly under the artificial light of the light bulb.

"Sarah and Vixen?" He calls out, the three other to-be trainers and I looking up at him.

"That's me," I say with a nod, rising out of my uncomfortable, plastic, grey chair and following him to an examination room. One of a doctor's check-up room more than a test-taking room. Vixen looks around the small room uncomfortably, squirming in my arms and adjusting to hide in my dirty, yellow jacket.

"So, Sarah, you're here to become a Pokémon Trainer?" The doctor asks conversationally while looking over the paper I filled out with my name, birth date, and starter Pokémon. I nod, affirming. "Thirteen is a bit old to be starting a journey, don't you think?"

"No, not really," I say with a shrug. "I think whenever you want to become a Pokémon Trainer is a good age; as long as you meet the age requirement of ten." My answer seems to please him, and he puts my sheet down, picking up a clipboard with a different paper clipped to it. Eyeing me multiple times, he begins filling out the form with my info.

"Thin. Long, chestnut hair. Grey-Blue eyes. Medium size. Now for specifics," he says aloud, weirding me out just a bit. He gets me to stand up, and I can't help but notice how Vixen is pacing impatiently in the tiny room. "On the scale." I obey, stepping onto the machine. The digital scale below says '99.7' pounds, which surprises even me. I would have sworn I was heavier than that... He then takes the rod next to the scale, lining it up with the bottom of my feet (he had me kick off my shoes on entry) and measures to the very top of my head. "Hm, 5'3". Average height for your age group."

I then have to sit back down on the chair and undergo random tests of all sorts. Blood pressure, heart rate, reflexes. I also had a light shined in my eyes multiple times, making a pedo comment that I have pretty eyes. I ignored him.

Then he has Vixen do the same as well. I was surprised to learn she's actually underweight by 1.3 pounds, being 20.7 instead of 22. But she's also taller, 2'3" instead of a solid 2'. Oh, and she's level five, not level four. I guess she leveled up. The doctor tested her fire sac too, having her repeatedly use Ember on a scarred wooden plank. I think it's safe to say she had a bit too much fun scorching wood.

"Good, everything is functioning fine in both of you. You're both healthy and fit enough to go on the journey you want to." I cheered softly, high-fiving Vixen who had to jump to reach my hand. "Now if you could return your Pokémon, that would be wonderful, because you have to go to testing now."

Crap.

"Go on," The doctor urges, waiting for me to take out my Poké Ball and return her like a normal trainer should be able to do.

"Uhm... The thing is... I haven't actually captured her yet..."

Priceless facial expression. Priceless. And if I would stop being afraid he'd kick me out, I'd laugh.

"You mean you brought a _wild_ Pokémon in here for your Trainer Test?!" The doctor asks incredulously, pushing up his circular glasses as if they had fallen when I delivered the news.

"It's not like I haven't tried!" I protest, realizing right after I said it how bad that sounds. "Okay, the thing is, I got her from the ranch my parents own, and she willingly agreed to come with me! But every time I try to catch her, by her own consent, of course, she breaks free of the ball, acting all scared the second she exits."

The doctor (Dude, I just realized I don't know your name...) nods slowly as I tell him this, and looks to my Vulpix. "May I take her for a moment?" He asks, looking to me for consent. Vixen and I share an uneasy glance, but I nod. He takes her out of the room, probably to another testing room, leaving me alone in the white office.

An excruciatingly boring wait of fifteen minutes later, he comes back with Vixen in his arms, yelping and squirming to get away.

"What did you do to her?!" I snap protectively, taking Vixen from him and holding her protectively in my arms.

"Nothing, nothing," he says calmly, holding his hands up in innocence. "I just tested her for Claustrophobia. The tests were positive. Your Vulpix is afraid of small, confined spaces, and that includes a Poké Ball. So once you do capture her, I advise you keep her out every second you can in case of a panic attack."

I look down at my shivering fox Pokémon, shocked. "But... But she was fine inside the enclosures..."

"Were they small and confined?"

"... No..."

"Exactly. You may go now." I stare at him after his casual dismissal, suddenly deciding I don't like him all that much. I exit the doctor's office, waiting in the waiting room for the instructors of the second test to coe and take me to the next stage of the test.

"Vixen..." I start unhappily. My vulpine friend looks up at me with what looks like shame o her face, probably knowing what I'm about to ask. "Can you stay in the Poké Ball for just ten seconds? Once I capture you, I swear to Arceus above that I'll let you out as soon as I can."

Taking her nod of approval as a 'yes', I pull out a Poké Ball and tap her with it, hearing a small yelping sound right before she enters.

One shake. Hurry up.

Two shakes. Hurry up, please...

Three shakes. OH COME ON PLEASE I NEED TO GET MY VULPIX OUT OF THERE.

The button flashes red to show she's mine now, and I quickly release the shivering Vulpix, scooping her up in a hug to try and comfort and shush her.

"Sarah?" A round-ish girl asks, waddling out of a room to look at me, I now being the only one in the room. "It's time for the written portion of the test. Please return your Pokémon and follow me."

Oh fun.

*Pokémon*

Kitten: Since I couldn't find a better place to stop it, this is where I leaveth you.

Sarah: You're a terrible person! You made my Vulpix claustrophobic!

Kitten: Shut up, I'm talking to the readers! ANYWAY, sorry I couldn't leave you with a more interesting chapter, but I promise that the next chapter will be so much better. You know you have to have filler, detail chapters like this.

Sarah: *still grumbling about Vixen*


	3. Test Taking and Training

Kitten: Iiiiiiii'm baaaaaaaack! Hope you missed me! Then I'll feel accomplished! ANYWHO, lets' just get right to it! Who thinks I own Pokémon? Anyone? If so, get your head checked.

*Pokémon*

Nearly ten minutes of arguing later, I manage to drag the doctor (who, by the way, doesn't like me much anymore) out of his office to convince the mean testing lady to let me take Vixen with me to the written portion of the test.

Not that that made it any more entertaining. Noooo, it was still two hours of filling in bubbles on a ScanTron and writing a one-page essay on why I think Poison moves don't affect Steel type Pokémon.

I envy Vixen. At least she got to sleep.

I FINALLY finish, swearing that if I ever hear the word resistance again I'll shoot someone, and get led to an arena kind of place. Vixen, now awake and in my arms, looks around with me, admiring the steel dome with the good-sized battle-field, the whole building probably a good 150 square feet.

"It's about TIME you got here!" A very feminine voice snaps in annoyance. I swing around, looking to see a girl sitting in the bleachers and tossing a Poké Ball up and down. Her hot pink jacket stands out in the shades of brown room, and her electric pants scream 'LOOK AT ME!' I don't know how I didn't see her before.

"And hello to you too," I say in response. The girl narrows her eyes at me, rising from her seat and hopping the bleachers down to my level, her bleach blond hair bouncing behind her. "You CANNOT be my instructor."

The girl laughs, plopping down next to me and eyeing me in a way that implies she's superior to me. I've seen Vinny look Coal that way before. Coal kicked his ass afterwards. If only...

"Noob. I'm not your instructor, you incompetent fool, I'm your training partner." Okay, so you switch from noob to incompetent fo- Wait, training partner?

"What do you mean 'training partner'?" I ask cluelessly, Vixen slinks off my lap, sitting in between the girl and I.

The girl doesn't answer, instead just eyes Vixen. "This is your Pokémon?" I nod. "I'm going to ace this test."

"Hello!" I snap. "Explain before I smack the answer out of you!"

The girl smirks at me, taking joy in the fact that she managed to rile me up. "I mean, we have to battle to see who gets a good score to be put into the machine. Only the top 90% get Trainer's Licenses. That's why I'm glad I only have to face you."

"Why are you so sure you can beat me?" I snap angrily. She answers by not catching the Poké Ball she's tossing, letting a blue Shellos emerge with an air of dignity.

"Meet Sea Blue, the death of your dreams," the girl says in a cocky tone of voice. Vixen and I just stare down at the slug Pokémon.

"I can see what you mean," I say, "she'll be turning my dreams into nightmares for weeks." The girl huffs in indignation, the prissy, little slug doing the same.

"I'll make you eat those words! You and your stupid Vulpix!" She snaps. "Sea Blue, Mud Slap!"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

The booming voice interrupts our would be battle, Sea Blue halting in her attack just in time. A very angry looking man entering the room and storming over to me and my new foe. His grey hair almost seems to bristle as he gets closer, and his mustache almost seems to stick out.

"Sophie! I have told you before, there is no battling without authorization until you're a full Pokémon Trainer!" He snaps in his scary, deep voice. Sophie scowls at him, returning Sea Blue to her Poké Ball.

"Wait, have you been here before?" I ask her, hoisting up Vixen in my arms. Sophie grudgingly nods and I bite back the urge to laugh at her until I cry.

With a softly muttered 'Damn kids...', the instructor leads us down to the battlefield, pressing a button on a remote he pulled from his pocket. The ground vanishes, and in its place rises a pool with little floating disks all over the surface.

Fun.

"Now," the angry instructor says, the scowl still on his face," you two will battle for ten minutes. You will both be earning points as the battle goes on depending on what you do. If one of the Pokémon faints of steps off the battlefield, that Pokémon is considered to be disqualified. Have I made myself clear?"

I nod quickly, and step up the platform, setting Vixen down beside me. She jumps onto a platform n front of us, wobbling with a slight yelp. Sophie sends out Sea Blue on a platform, the slug making it wobble on purpose for entertainment purposes.

"Begin!"

The second the instructor yells it, Sea Blue sends a Mud-Slap Vixen's way. Vixen dodges, jumping over it and letting it splash in the water behind her.

"Vixen, to the platform on the right!" I command. Vixen jumps accordingly, starting to get closer to the Shellos, who stays put. The battle just goes for trading moves awhile, yet I can feel my blood pumping as I get more and more excited, happy with the battle even with the disadvantage.

"Mud Slap!" Sophie commands when Vixen finally lands on the platform with Sea Blue. The slug fires off the ground type attack, leaving Vixen to barely roll away in time. I watch this continue for a second, then notice Sophie constantly moving, noting that she moves every time the water comes close to touching her.

I have an evil plan.

"Vixen, circle it!" I shout. Vixen keeps moving and dogging the oncoming attacks, slowly turning Shellos to face Sophie. Finally, Sea Blue is facing Sophie.

"Mud Slap!" Sophie shouts for the umpteenth time. As Sea Blue prepares the attack, I command Vixen in the water. The fire type dives just in time. The Mu Slap nails Sophie in the expensive looking mid-section, hitting both her jacket and her pants.

"DEAR ARCEUS AHHHHHHH! SEA BLUE, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Sophie shouts hysterically, completely losing her cool. Vixen clambers back onto the platform, Sea Blue still panicking over upsetting her hysterical master so much.

"V-Vixen! Ember! R-Repeatedly!" I command, trying hard not to laugh but failing to contain half of my giggles. Vixen torments the Shellos, Sophie now not commanding her Pokémon as she dances around, trying to get the mud off of her and squealing about how disgusting it is.

"Shellos!" Sea Blue shouts in despair, burned and trying to hit Vixen, firing off random attacks before tying to Harden enough so they don't hurt her anymore. Sophie finally looks up, pushing the blond hair out of her eyes just in time to see her precious Pokémon faint.

"Match!" The instructor commands, writing just a bit more. I hop the platforms, getting to sopping wet Vixen and scooping her up in a joyful haze. We celebrate for a moment or two, before we realize I'm sitting with most of me on the left side of the platform and go plummeting into the cold water below.

*Pokémon*

"After reviewing the battle," the instructor begins, talking to Sophie, whom the mud has dried on and linked her clothing together and me, with the towel wrapped around my shoulders and Vixen in my lap, "I have come to a decision. Sophie, I am sorry to say you've failed. Again."

Sophie doesn't even say anything, glaring at anything and everything in sight and storming away, hands balled up in angry fists.

"Sarah," he begins, "you failed." Before I can protest, he continues. "UNLESS, it was accidental that you made her Shellos hit her with a move."

"But it wasn't an-"

"IT was an accident?" He asks, implying I say yes. I stop the grin from spreading across my face.

"Yup. Total accident. I feel SOOO bad."

The instructor grins, filling out a piece of paper and telling me to wait here. I excitedly have a one-side conversation with Vixen for five minutes until he comes out with a small piece of plastic with my face on it and a PokéDex.

"Here you are, miss," the instructor says happily. I take it gleefully, giving him back the towel and letting Vixen hop off my lap. After thanking him graciously for about two minutes, I leave, and as I start to head out the door, he calls after me.

"About time someone taught that damn battle instructor a thing or two."

*Pokémon*

"Ooooh! Vixen! Use Ember!" I shout happily, training on route 203. The Kricketot we found yelped unhappily, trying and failing to dodge left. The bug Pokémon took the hit with a yelp, passing out in only one move. Vixen jumped up in joy along with me as we went in search of other Pokémon.

After beating a few Bidoof senseless, Vixen stops being able to Ember, tiny amounts of smoke all that emerges.

"Darn, out of Power," I mutter unhappily. Vixen frowns as well, puffing smoke for awhile. I take out my now somewhat filled PokéDex and look her up, examining her. I'm pleased to see a seven after the level, and the move Roar added to her known moves.

"At least you leveled up from all the battling we did," I say cheerfully. Vixen grins and shrugs, puffing a small cloud of smoke again. "And you learned Roar!" Vixen cocks her head. It seems she wasn't paying enough attention. Her face lights up and, eager to try it out, faces me and Roars as loud as she can. I yelp as I'm swept off my feet, flying five feet back at least until I slam into a tree. I half expect a Pineco to fall out of the trees and blow me up, but it doesn't.

"Vul?" Vixen says almost hopefully. I try and fail to glare at her, making eyes that imply anger but grinning like an idiot.

"Don't do that again, you jerk," I growl out good-naturedly. Vixen smiles at me, then trots up and settles down next to me to sleep. "Uh uh," I say, stopping her. You can sleep at the Pokémon Center. We need to restore your Power." Vixen pouts, but nods. I get up, brushing dust and dirt off my already dirty jacket and jeans. Before we can get a move on, a Shinx slowly approaches, sniffing the air.

"Vixen, Roar!" I command quickly, not wanting to engage in a battle we can't fight. The Shinx looks up, and squeaks its name as Vixen uses Roar loudly, sending the tiny Pokémon flying. I scoop up the fox Pokémon, dashing away before the Shinx can pursue its attackers.

I run down the city street, the setting sun behind my back as I turn left, then left again, until the Pokémon Center is in view. I slow down, getting tired after a run like that, and set Vixen down panting.

"Come... On... Vixen. Let's... Go inside..." I say while taking in air. Vixen utters the half bark/cough sound, the sound of her laughter that I'm growing so used to. We walk in the Pokémon Center, the tiles forming a Poké Ball on the floor.

"Evening, Nurse Joy!" I greet, stepping up to the counter. "How are you?"

Nurse Joy looks surprised, probably shocked that I didn't just command she heal my Pokémon. "I'm fine, thank you. What's your name and how can I help you this fine evening?" She asks cheerfully.

"My Vulpix ran out of Power for a certain move, I was wondering if you could help with that," I say, bending down to scoop up the fire type.

"Of course, I'd be happy to," Nurse Joy says with a smile, cocking her head and causing her hair loops to sway. "If you could return her, I can heal her in a jiffy."

Vixen's eyes widen, and she shakes her head quickly. I bite my lip, looking sheepish. "Is there anyway to heal her without using the machine? Vixen here is claustrophobic and can't handle being in her Poké Ball for too long." Nurse Joy raises an eyebrow, looking to the tiny Pokémon, but excuses herself, returning with a bag full of Leppa Berries.

"Here," she says, handing them to me, "these are Leppa Berries. They restore Power. Just have her eat a few of these until she's fine. You can always buy Ether at the Market if you run out as well, okay?"

"Thank you so much, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience." I bow my head slightly in a sign of respect, and start to leave when she stops me.

"Excuse me, miss, but it's a bit late out. Do you have anywhere to stay?" I turn to face her, not sure how to respond.

"No... Not really..." I say a bit mareepishly.

"Pokémon Centers always offer a room to stay then!" She says brightly with a smile to match. "We're out of rooms, but you may sleep in the lobby!"

"Really?" I ask incredulously. She nods. "Thank you so much, Nurse Joy!"

"Call me Maria," she says with a soft smile. I nod, walking up and offering her my right hand. She shakes it with a smile.

"And I'm Sarah, nice to meet you."

"You as well, now good night!" She calls after me as I go to wait in the lobby. I lay down on a couch, Vixen atop my chest happily and snuggling up to me. I pull a blanket from my backpack and yawn, eventually drifting off to sleep.

*Pokémon*

A loud commotion woke me up the next down.

"DON'T LET IT GET AWAY!"

I wake with a jolt, sending Vixen tumbling to the floor with the Vulpix version of 'oof'.

"What was that?" I ask no one in particular, Nurse J- er, Maria, is attending to someone, so I can't ask her. I pack up my backpack and slide it on quickly, grabbing Vixen up and running out of the Pokémon Center.

In the alleyway to the left of the building, between the Pokémon Center and someone's house, three kids are trapping a Shinx, all trying to catch it with no Pokémon. They can't even be nine years old.

"Hey, hey!" I shout, towering over all of them. They all turn around, the three boys staring up at me. "Leave that Pokémon alone! You can't even catch it!"

They scatter with randomly thrown out apologies, leaving the Shinx backed up into the fence to stare up at Vixen and I.

"Pix!" Vixen chirps out, staring at it.

The Shinx turns red, trying to bolt past us. I bend down and grab it's scruff, looking to the tuft of fur on its head and identifying it as male. Vixen jumps out of my arms and stares up at the limply hanging Shinx, who is dying of shame.

"What are you doing in the city, huh?" I ask. The Shinx continues to stare at the ground, only acknowledging my question with a flick of the tail. I sigh, walking past the Pokémon Center and starting on my way to Route 203. "Let's release you back into the wild. You've been through enough to today already."

The Shinx hits the ground as soon as my hand is close enough and takes off running, the bushes shaking as he bolts past them.

"Was that your Shinx?" A boy in a backwards, blue baseball cap asks. I shake my head, and he shouts in joy. "Awesome! I've been trying to find one for ages, but they all run away!" And with that, he runs after the Shinx.

"Weirdo," I comment uselessly, then look down at Vixen, want to go train some more? We might be able to make it through the cave without much difficulty if you're level nine. Or Roar them away if worse comes to worse." Vixen nods happily, and we start combing through the grass for Pokémon. Vixen stops with her ears perked, standing in front of me with her tails flared. A small, white Pokémon with a green hat thing sits on a tree stump, munching on a berry. I quietly take out my PokéDex, examining the Pokémon and turning it on mute so as not to scare it.

Ralts, Psychic. Female. 1'2". 12.5 pounds. Level 4. Moves Growl. Rare in this area. The horns on its head provide a strong power that enables it to sense people's emotions.

My eyes light up at the description, and I watch the Ralts with capture on my mind.

"Vixen, sneak up on it, and use Ember." Vixen nods, creeping through the grass to surprise the unsuspecting Pokémon.

A 'snap' resounds through the area as the Vulpix on the prowl steps on a dry twig.

How cliché.

Ralts jumps up, letting out an alarmed sounding 'Ralts!' an dashing off, surprising fast for the appearance of almost a dress around it.

"After it!" I yelp, dashing through the route to catch the psychic type. Vixen starts catching up, and opens her mouth to Ember it. She stops when a smoke puff collides with her face. The Ralts dashes off, crying its name in alarm.

"I never fed you the Leppa berries, did I?" I ask, watching the Ralts dash further and further away. Vixen shakes her head, watching the psychic type as well.

"Vul."

"Damn."

"Vul."

*Pokémon*

Kitten: As you have all figured out, I will be updating frequently. Until, of course, I vanish off the face of the Earth. Either because of other FanFictions (both reading and writing) or some sort of school related crap. So, thanks to anyone who did anything to this story! I vowed to update everyday until someone paid attention too it, and someone finally did! I'm still going to update as soon as I can, though. Anyway, ONTO THE THANKING PORTION OF THIS CHAPTER. Sarah is our announcer this fine chapter.

Sarah: Not much to so, huh? Well, let's proceed!

**To 'peculiar puppet': **_Oh my gosh thanks so much for the sweet review! I try to make sure not to write the same thing as everyone else, which can be pretty hard when writing a story about going on a Pokémon Journey. And I don't really know how my style of writing can be adorable, but I appreciate it all the same! Gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling to read. I do have a lot planned out, but I'm open to any and all advice! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review, and thanks for putting _Constant Flames _on your alerts! Hope you enjoy the chapter!_

**To '8Tyedye8': **_Merci! That's right, I'm learning French. X3. Anyway, thanks for putting _Constant Flames _on your alerts list! I'm glad the story is getting recognized!_

Kitten: Anywho, thanks for reading, everyone! Oh, and by the way, yes, Sophie was actually a Battle Instructor. The reason she poses as a to-be trainer is going to be withheld for now.


	4. Teammates to-be

Kitten: Mwhahaha, I just can't stop writing this FanFiction! Oh, and quick note, by the way. I was going to have Sarah and Vixen fail the Trainer Test at first, but then she ended up making her own Shellos attack Sophie. She won on against the odds. Let's proceed, shall we?

*Pokémon*

"We're going to catch this Pokémon, and we are going to train it as our second team member!" I hiss, staring at the swarm Pokémon, Cubone. "His name shall be Bones and he shall be ours! I gave him a name! He's mine already!"

Vixen looks up, waiting for me to stop ranting and command her to do something. I look down, remembering that we actually have to battle before we cn catch the Pokémon. "Right. That. Ember it."

Vixen grins, sneaking up on the ground type before using Ember on the thing's backside.

"CUBOOOOONE!" Bones, our future teammate, yells in pain. I cry out in joy, telling Vixen to stay out of its range and keep attacking, remembering from the PokéDex that it only knows Growl and Tail Whip so far.

Then, the Earth starts moving.

Vixen halts her attack, looking around in confusion. One by one, more and more Cubone come into view, hearing their friends distress cry.

Huh. they really ARE swarm Pokémon.

"VIXEN! ROAR! MUTIPLE TIMES! AND RUN!" I shout in a panic, the Cubone starting to just hit at us with their bone weapons. Vixen uses the move repeatedly when she's not yelping and evading the Cubone. As son as one vanishes another one comes running. I swear loudly and vulgarly, kicking at the ground type Pokémon and trying to get my Vulpix back.

"Ow! Ow! Stop hitting me, you stupid boneheads!" I snap, smacking the little ground types that surround me and my partner. Vixen Roars once more, scattering a few out way. I scoop her up, hissing and spitting at the merciless Lonely Pokémon, and dash for Jubilife, the angry herd of Cubone giving up the chase after about thirty seconds. I lean against a tree, huffing and puffing for air as Vixen sits patiently on the ground, frowning in unhappiness.

"Vulpix Vulpix.," she says unhappily, kicking a stone with her paw.

"If catching a second teammate is this hard, you're going to face the Pokémon League alone, when the time comes," I threaten, staring over at Vixen. Said fox rolls her eyes, about to respond (which I wouldn't understand anyway) when she perks up her head, staring down the road at an oncoming trainer. The girl has fiery red hair and a simple white tee on, her vibrant pink cammy standing out beneath it and matching her vibrant pink pants.

"Anyone else really want to challenge a trainer today?" I ask Vixen with a grin. My vulpine friend grins back and runs off before I can move, stopping in front of the girl.

"Vul Vulpix Pix!" Vixen shouts happily, holding her rear in the air and head lowered like a Growlithe showing it wants to play.

"Oh my gosh! Aren't you the cutest thing!" Redhead yelps happily, bending down and petting my now confused Vulpix as I approach.

"Sorry, Vixen here can get a bit excited," I say mareepishly before sending a glare the way of my Vulpix. Vixen sticks her tongue out at me, the effect ruined with the hand going down her back repeatedly.

"Well she's just the cutest thing in the world!" Redhead squeals loudly. Meh, I'm growing used to loud noises *cough*VIXEN*cough*.

"Want to battle the cutest thing in the world?" I ask, crossing my legs while I stand and toying with the hem of my jeans.

"Ooooooh!" Redhead squeals happily, running back a few feet and nodding vigorously. "You bet I do! Go, Mew!"

Wait, what?!

A Meowth pops out of a lavishly decorated Poké Ball. "Meow."

Oh Dear Arceus I swear I just had a heart attack. "You named your Meowth, Mew?" I ask incredulously, pretending I didn't just have a heart attack. The girl nods, saying something about mishearing it the first time it spoke as I pull out my PokéDex to examine this 'Mew'.

Blah blah blah... Here! Info I need! Own To: Carmen Keller. Level: 9. Moves : Scratch, Growl, Bite, Fake Out. Female.

"Dang, she's got two levels on us, Vixen."

"Vul Pix. Vul Vul Vul." I stare at Vixen blankly, causing her to sigh in irritation, looking to the foe. "Vul Pix Vul Vulpix Vulpix."

"What ever. Vixen, Ember!" I command, hoping to take Mew by surprise.

"Mew, take the first attack!" Carmen calls out. Mew rears back leaping at with impossible speed even before the Vulpix can Ember. Carmen claps her paws on either side of Vixen's face, and the six-tailed fox shakes her head, dazed. Taking this time in which Vixen was flinching, Mew's teeth start to glow, and she rushes forward and latches onto my fox with Bite.

"Vul! Vulpix Vul!" Vixen shouts viciously, turning in circles and singing whatever part of the cat she can; Mew latched onto one of her tails.

"Mew, get off and attack with Scratch!" Carmen commands. The second Mew lets go, I command Vixen to Roar, sending the Meowth flying off into the trees with a yelp."

"Hm, Carmen must only have a Meowth then," I comment uselessly to myself. "Vixen, Ember!" Vixen nods happily, charging off into the bushes where Mew landed and letting loose a barrage of Ember.

Dry bushes + Ember = Very bad idea.

"Ahhh! No! No, no, no!" I yelp uselessly. The battle ends unceremoniously as Carmen and I both rush to the flaming bushes, yelling for Vixen and Mew respectively.

Vixen comes crawling out of the bushes, obviously knowing she did a very bad thing as the fire starts to spread. Mew, on the other hand, is not a fire type and does not have Flash Fire as an ability, so she is left yelling for help in the flaming forest. Fortunately, the trees we're by are pretty far away from the rest of the forest, so we're probably going to only burn down like, five trees and a collection of bushes. But of course, there are Pokémon that live there, so still very bad.

"Gah! You idiot! Get my Mew out of there now!" Carmen turns on me, shouting in a panic. A few Starly and their evolutions fly out of the trees with distressed squawks, grey feathers falling to the ground in a flurry.

"What, so now I'm fire retardant!?" I snap back, knowing guiltily that it is my fault but not will to get burnt to a crisp to stop that guilt.

"More like plain retarded!" Carmen snaps. Vixen, on the other hand, has no problem with the fire, hearing out shouting match and stops her slinking, straightening up and walking into the burning shrubbery. Breaking off branch after branch of the burning bushes, she slowly starts creating a gap in the flames, stomping out anything she can on the ground.

Carmen and I stop shouting to watch Vixen, both not thinking to do anything for lack of ideas. Eventually, my smart, little fox creates a gap wide enough for the trapped Meowth, who dashes out with a panicked cry of its name and curls up on Carmen's foot, shivering. Once Carmen returns her distressed Meowth, she storms off, the match decidedly ended by the both of us.

Vixen trots out of the flames, sitting beside me with a proud look on her face.

"Oh please, it's not like you could have died in those flames," I remind her with a roll of the eyes, watching the rest of the fire burn helplessly.

"Vul Vuuuul Pix Vulpix! Vul Vulpix Pix!" Vixen says happily. I blink down at her, not knowing what she said but oddly feeling like I should argue.

"You did start the fire."

This disheartens my Vulpix, and she hangs her head in shame. I roll my eyes, petting her head before looking around. "We should probably work on putting said fire out before it actually does spread to nearby shrubbery."

Vixen nods, looking around and trotting off, leaving me to watch over the fire. I eventually approach it, getting hotter as I get nearer, and try kicking dirt at it and stomping on ground flames. When this doesn't work, I fish a neatly folded, pink blanket out of my backpack and start trying to put out small sections at a time by smothering it.

That's how I lost that blanket.

"Vul Vulpiiiiix!" I hear Vixen whine. Turning around, I see her dragging a reluctant Psyduck to the sight of our failure. "Vul Vulpix Pix Pix Vul!"

"Psy..." The Psyduck sighs, but seems to listen (I can't tell. Language barrier.) and uses Water Sport multiple times, the falling water dampening everything and starting to kill the fire. About ten Water Sports later, the fire finally dies, leaving a scarred section of nature left in its wake.

"Thank you!" I say happily, not wanting to attack the thing that just cleaned up our mess. The Duck Pokémon seems to roll its eyes, waddling away from us. "Did we seriously manage to get a _Psyduck_ to roll its eyes at us?" I ask, looking down at Vixen, who nods in amused shame. "We're pathetic." Vixen nods again.

*Pokémon*

"Do you want to go back to the Center and call it a night?" I ask through a stifled yawn, the setting sun telling us to go to sleep soon. Vixen nods, yawning and stumbling over her own paws. Vixen, now level nine, is practically asleep on her paws, having trained so much today.

I smile with affection at my sleepy Pokémon, bending down and taking her up in my arms. The fox doesn't protest, but snuggles up to my chest and closes her eyes.

"Awww..." I say softly, starting the ten minute walk back to the city. We never really went far into the route. On the way back, I hear a muffled squeak of surprise. Whipping around, I watch as a Shinx climbs out of a small ditch it probably didn't see.

"Shoo!" I hiss softly, trying not to wake Vixen. "I don't have a Pokémon that's awake to battle you!" The Shinx shrinks back, watching me with shy eyes. My soft hissing obviously wasn't enough, and Vixen wakes up, looking around groggily.

"Vix...?" She slurs out, shaking sleep from her head. I groan, unhappy with my failed attempt to preserve my Pokémon's sleep. "Pix?" Vixen voices, her voice rising at the end of the noise to indicate a question. The Shinx springs up, squeaking with an almost purple tint to it. "Vul Vulpix Pix?!"

"Sh-Shi!"

"Vul Pix Vul!"

"Shi!"

"I am lost!" I interject, the Shinx taking the hint and realizing Vixen wants to talk to it. Judging by the hair on its head, it's male. I sit on the ground, setting myt Vulpix on the ground so she can go talk to the Shinx, who's growling unhappily and kneading the ground with his paws. Instead of starting up the debate I thought they were going to have, Vixen spits a burning Ember into his face with a saucy smirk.

"Vixen!" I snap, "Wait for my orders! Or something!" The Shinx reels back with a cry of pain, glaring at Vixen with teary eyes and flashing his sharp teeth at her as he growls. Standing tall, his eyes flash yellow and Vixen shrinks back with a tiny shudder, Leer raking effect and lowering her defense.

Vixen growls throatily, spitting another Ember at him. The Shinx dodges this time, rolling to the right and leering at her again. Vixen shudders, growling in annoyance and chases after him, spitting another Ember.

"Vixen, Roar!" I command. Bad timing too. Vixen follows my orders obediently, and sends the wild Pokémon flying my way. The Flash Pokémon hits my mid-section with an immense amount of force, knocking me down. The kitten-like Pokémon bites down on my arm, a soft growl emerging the entire time.

Tiny Pokémon. Tiny, pin-like teeth. Immense pain anyway.

"OW OW OW!" I shout/hiss, waving my arm around wildly. The Shinx eventually detaches, looking frightening with my blood staining the fur around his mouth.

"Vul Vul Pix!" Vixen shouts in what I assume to be anger, rushing at the Shinx while I clutch the bite-wound on my forearm and hiss pathetically. The Shinx jumps out of her way, then slams into her with a well-aimed Tackle, knocking her into my backpack. Vixen clambers off of it, glaring daggers at the electric type.

"Ember!" I command in a hiss. A glint catches my eye, and I see one of my remaining Poké Balls glinting in the moonlight.

Oh how I LOVE when good things happen at critical times.

"Vul!" Vixen shouts, distracting me as she flies to the left, taking another Tackle to her side.

"Hang in there and stay out of range!" I shout, turning my attention back to the red-and-white ball. I snatch it up, tapping the button once to maximize its size. "Ember one more time!" I shout out. Vixen, seeming to have fun burning the thing, sends out a flurry of fire that looks more like a Flamethrower. The Shinx cries out in pain, stumbling away and shaking his head to regain his positioning. In the small amount of time he's recuperating, I hurriedly throw the ball at him, resisting the urge to make a fool out of myself and yell 'GO, POKÉ BALL!' The sphere shakes once, then twice, then three times. And then it dings and blinks red at me.

"MWHAHAHAHAHAHA." I practically skip over to the Poké Ball, looking down at my new teammate happily. "Vixen, this is awesome! We have another teammate!"

"Vul Vulpix Vulpix..." She grumbles, but watches as I unleash my new Pokémon.

"Shi?" The Shinx asks in confusion, looking around. I take out my PokéDex, examining my new Pokémon.

"Shinx," I read aloud, "the Flash Pokémon. I don't care about general weight and height... Ah! Your specific info! Okay, you, my new friend, are 1'06" and weigh 19.7 pounds. You're still pretty young, but you know that. Your special ability is Intimidate? You don't seem very intimidating... Meh, whatever. Oh, and you're level five and know only Tackle and Leer. And the random blurps of info say 'the extension and concentration of its muscles generates electricity. Its fur glows when it's in trouble, and they usually use this time to flee from large enemies.' Anyway, says here you're mine now, which, admittedly makes me really happy. Now it's prompting me for a name. Any ideas?"

Vixen and my new Shinx stare up at me, my wall of speech turning off their brains.

"Names. What do you want to be called?" I ask, staring down at the Flash Pokémon. I plop in front of him, watching him.

"Shinx. Shi Shi Shinx." I watch him stare at me after he says this, and nod slowly.

"Right. Because I understood that." The Shinx sighs in what appears to be defeat, and he curls up, resting his head on his paws to stare up at me.

"Vul Pix Vulpix," Vixen suggests unhelpfully. The Shinx pouts at her, mumbling something under his breath and hiding his face in his fur. I can't help but coo at how cute that is, and surprise him by pulling him into my lap, the kitten-like Pokémon almost not caring except for a small smile flashing tugging at his lips.

"You remind me of my little cousin, Alex. He has hair that's almost as soft as yours, but you're much cuter than him. Are you okay with being named after a three-year old?" I ask, looking down at the Pokémon I'm now stroking. He nods his head, barely moving, seeming to enjoy the affection I'm showing him. I grin happily, using my free hand to type in his name. The PokéDex shows a check-mark of accepting the name, and goes back into sleep-mode when I flip it closed.

I look over at Vixen when she yawns, shuffling back over to me and resting her head on my leg. I smile down at her, and put Alex down, making him mewl in unhappiness at the lack of petting now happening. I fix up my back-back and slide it on, looking at my two sleepy Pokémon as the moon hangs high in the sky.

"Come on, let's go get a room at the Pokémon Center." I gingerly pick up Vixen and cradle her in my arms, then look down at Alex, who's looking up at me expectantly with half-lidded eyes. It's a wonder I didn't melt of how cute he can be. I manage to scoop him up as well, though find it much harder to carry twice the normal weight and position them so their comfortable, not wanting to put Alex back in his Poké Ball so soon.

By the time I reach the Pokémon Center, it's a wonder my arms hadn't fallen off or I hadn't fallen asleep on the walk there. Alex had eventually fallen asleep, draped over Vixen's lower half with a tiny grin on his face, Vixen having been asleep most of the time anyway.

"Oh, Sarah, help?" Maria offers sweetly. I nod in a pained way, and let her carefully pluck Alex off of Vixen. Despite our efforts, both of them wake up.

"Vuuuuuul..." Vixen whines as she yawns, not willing to get out of my arms.

"Shi, Shi Inx Inx?" Alex asks, completely awake the second his eyes open. Ignoring the languages I can't understand, I pull out Alex's Poké Ball and ask Nurse Maria Joy if she can heal him. She nods kindly and offers to bring out a few berries for my claustrophobic Vulpix as well.

Once everyone is good and as healed as they can get, Nurse J- Damn, MARIA, says there's a room available tonight, and I sigh in relief/happiness. I shuffle down the hall to room 104 and quickly let Vixen down and Alex out of his Poké Ball and toss my back-pack in the corner.

"G'night..." I mumble dreamily, stumbling into the bed after shutting the door. I pull the covers over myself as Alex settles at my feet and Vixen curls up in my arms and a sweet state of sleep washes over us all.

*Pokémon*

I yawn, stretching awake and looking around the Center room I managed to snag. Vixen managed to burn the leg of the bed in her sleep, but she obviously put it out the second she did if the bed is still standing. Alex, on the other hand, stayed exactly where I left him all night, curled up at my feet.

"G'mornin'..." I slur groggily. My messy voice wakes the two Pokémon in the room, Vixen looking up just as tired and Alex springing awake like someone pinched him. I look over at the clock while Alex jumps off the cream coloured sheets of the bed, leaving blue fur behind. I'm distressed to see the clock at 10:37. "Damn it... We missed breakfast..."

"Vul..." Vixen says tiredly, yawning through her words.

"Inx," Alex says with a shrug, catching Vixen's yawn and showing off his sharp teeth as he does so.

"Whatever you say..." I say with a sigh, looking around the small room and finding the door to the bathroom. "I'm going to shower, behave yourselves. I can bathe you guys later." I shuffle across the pink floors, taking a towel out of the closet and hanging it on the outside shower door's handle, looking in the mirror. My long, brown hair is messier than messy and face has traces of dirt and ash on it.

"Probably should have showered sooner..." I comment awkwardly to myself, turning on the water and stripping as I do so. Now fully un-clothed, I gingerly step into the water, pleased to find that it's warm. I turn the knob further to the left, turning the water up even hotter and happily showering until squeaky clean.

Done, I take the towel off its spot on the handle and dry off best I can, wrapping myself in it to go find my backpack and get clothes to change into. I walk out into the room, finding an oddly Shinx-shaped bulge under my covers (which are now on the floor) flailing wildly as Vixen laughs like a maniac.

"Not even going to ask," I say with a sigh, rifling through my backpack. I pull out a pair of red pants and a purple tee with undergarments that won't show through, then disappear back into the bathroom. I run a Center brush through my hair and change into my clothes, gathering my dirty clothes off the bathroom floor and tossing them onto my bed. Vixen and Alex look up at me, this time sitting on the floor and seemingly chatting.

"Who's ready for a bath?"

*Pokémon*

My first mistake was taking them both in at once. They splashed each other so much they got it everywhere, and Alex started teaching Vixen to swim in the warm water. With very exaggerated paw movement.

My second mistake was turning my back on them to find the Pokémon shampoo. Not only did they start to play, they started dunking each other. And Vixen is already at a disadvantage in the water.

My third, and most fatal mistake, was putting on clean clothes _before_ I washed them. An hour later, Alex and Vixen are fluffed up and clean while I'm hiding away in the bathroom to change.

I come out in a mint green shirt and blue jeans, throwing on my bright yellow jacket I always wear. Vixen and Alex are trotting around the room, their fluffy coats bouncing as they play with the new-found fluff.

I grin down at my two Pokémon, watching them play together and feeling my heart warm up.

"You're both so cute. But guess who needs to train?" I ask, watching them both perk up at the idea of exercising a bit more. I see Vixen especially happy, and I can't help but note she's always much happier outside. Meh, I blame the claustrophobia.

*Pokémon*

The next three days were kind of boring, I must say. Of course there were some interesting events like when Vixen managed to attract the attention of a few Golduck. That didn't end too well. And of course Alex managed to gain a few levels, reaching level nine and learning Charge. Vixen, on the other hand, only reached level ten, and though she denies it, I think she was just letting Alex catch up to her.

Anyway, now is a new day, and both my Pokémon are looking at the Oreburgh gate with a hopeful expression.

"You think we're ready to go through that gate?" I ask with an arched eyebrow. Both nod excitedly, Alex even sparking a bit. I grin, and gesture to the gate. "Lead the way."

*Pokémon*

Kitten: Meh, I was going to include a blurp with them in Oreburgh Gate or have them go in, but I felt this was a sufficient place to stop. Anyway, I have thanks to do! I'll have Sarah read them again. Until I get more important characters whom you can understand, of course.

Sarah: Dang... This is longer than before...

_**To 'sugar ninjas': **Thanks for reading and putting me on your alerts! I always love when stories I liked are liked by others. X3 Oh, and I have to say that I like your name._

_**To 'Shadow Serenity 57': **_

_First review**: **Trust me, you don't want to read the original. XD And this is where I have to say 'Great minds think alike!' Oh, stupid typos... Thanks, I'll go through and locate said annoyances. This is why I need a beta, I just think I would annoy the hell outta them. Well I'm glad you like it!_

_Second review: Filler is fun, and needed. Oh... yeah... the Houndoom attack does seem random... Lack of questioning... Dang, I'll need to put that in somehow. Thanks for pointing that out! Thought the attack will be explained later, it doesn't make sense hat no one pointed it out. Poo. And yeah, I liked the teamwork seen in the Vulpix. X3 They're cute. And thank you once more! I was hoping to develop more character for her!_

_Third review: Hm, yeah, calling it PP was a bad, lazy thing to do. Reading your review, I went back and changed it to just Power. Because, if you think about it, they would run out of power eventually. They can't just keep a flame running forever. Though calling it PP was kind of dumb, thanks for pointing it out... Oh yes, poor Vixen is going to have so much fun throughout the story with her little problem. I must say I think she'll never learn Dig. XD Yes, four-moves will be in the story, though that will be explained, unlike many things in this odd, little story. Huh, again, this is why I need a beta. Once more, thanks for pointing that out, I went back and fixed that; now she just circles it until she nails Sophie. I need to keep these things in mind... And the whole 'diving into the water' thing will be explained later too, I thought about that too... Truth is, I want to know what Sarah wrote too. XD And I think about it more than I should. It's stupid, aggravating question._

_Follow: Thanks for following my story! I liked it better when it was alerts... Now it reminds me of Twitter... But thanks all the same! It makes me feel... Accomplished? Oh, and I like your pen name too, it's pretty and mysterious._

_**To 'danparker': **Ahahaha, much thanks, dan. I'm slowing gathering followers, all of whom I adore._

_**To 'Lilitraum':** I know you didn't follow this story specifically, but it still pleases me that you're following me; even if you never read this!_

_Thanks to all of you! Hope you enjoyed!_

Kitten: And with that, I wish you all a good night!


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